Addressing the nation for the first time from the rampart of Red Fort after coming to power for a second consecutive term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi a fresh pitch for holding Lok Sabha and Assembly polls together saying the concept of 'one nation, one election' is imperative to make the country great.
“Dream of ‘One Nation, One Tax’ has been brought to life by the GST. Our nation has also successfully achieved ‘One Nation, One Grid’ in the power sector. And today, India is talking about ‘One Nation, One Election’,” said PM Modi during his address to the nation on the 73rd Independence Day.
Last August, the Law Commission had recommended holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies to save public money.
The draft, submitted to the Law Ministry, however, cautioned that "holding simultaneous elections is not possible within the existing framework of the Constitution".
The Centre has been toying with the idea for quite some time now.
Addressing a Niti Aayog meeting here in June, PM Modi had called for widespread debate and consultations on simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies, keeping in view various aspects such as the resulting financial savings and consequent better utilisation of resources.
The government think-tank, NITI Aayog, had last year suggested synchronised two-phase Lok Sabha and assembly polls from 2024 to ensure minimum campaign-mode disruption to governance.
In June, soon after returning to power, the PM had met leaders of various political parties having representation in Parliament to explore possibilities of holding Lok Sabha and assembly elections together.
A committee will be set up by the government to further explore the issue.
With PTI Inputs
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